Latest news with #Pocso
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
‘Love jihad' threat to nation's integrity, says court, gives man 7-yr jail sentence
Representative photo A Yamunanagar court has sentenced a man to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting and intimidating a minor Hindu girl to coerce her into a relationship with a Muslim juvenile, terming the case one of 'love jihad'. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the convict and said such acts were 'a potential threat' to the nation's sovereignty and integrity. While acknowledging that 'love jihad' is not a legal term under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita or the Pocso Act , the court described it as a 'purported campaign by Muslim men to convert non-Muslim women to Islam by pretending to be in love.' In Nov last year, a 14-yearold girl filed a complaint at City Yamunanagar police station, naming Shahbaj and a juvenile. She alleged the boy had stalked her on her way to school while Shahbaj pressured her to befriend him. The FIR invoked sections 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of BNS, and sections 17 (abetment), 8 (sexual assault) and 12 (sexual harassment of a child) under Pocso. The defence counsel, SS Nehra, argued that the accused was falsely implicated. However, additional sessions judge Ranjana Aggarwal, in her July 17 order, said Shahbaj systematically tried to force an interfaith relationship through 'allurement and inducement.' The court awarded him four years under Pocso Section 8, two years under Section 12, and one year under BNS Section 351(2), with fines totalling Rs 1 lakh. All sentences will run consecutively
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
Man gets 20-yr RI for raping 9-year-old girl
1 2 Berhampur: A special Pocso court here on Saturday sentenced a 30-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 9-year-old girl after kidnapping her from a village in Ganjam district about two years ago. Additional district-cum-special court judge Pranati Pattnaik also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the convict, a co-villager of the survivor. "He will undergo imprisonment for an additional six months if he fails to pay the fine," said special public prosecutor Narayan Panda. The court also directed the district legal services authorities (DLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs 10.50 lakh to the survivor. The entire fine amount will be paid to the girl after recovery as per the CrPC provisions. "The court pronounced the judgment after recording the statements of nine witnesses, including the police and doctor, and based on the medical reports," said Panda. Sources said the convict raped the girl after forcibly kidnapping her from her house on Jan 13, 2023, when the other family members were watching a folk dance. After returning at night, they found the girl was not at home. During search, they found the girl coming from the back of the house, crying. She narrated her ordeal to her mother. The next day, her mother lodged an FIR in the local police station. Police registered a case against the man under different sections of BNS and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and arrested him. The accused was in judicial custody since his arrest.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- New Indian Express
Life sentence for seven involved in 2019 gang-rape case in Tamil Nadu
COIMBATORE: Seven persons arrested in connection with the gang-rape of a Class XI girl in 2019 were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Special Court for the trial of cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) in Coimbatore on Friday. The Special Court Judge T Bagavathiammal sentenced three of the accused to life imprisonment till death, and four others were awarded a life sentence. The convicts have been identified as P Manikandan (36), T Rahul (21), R Prakash (22), and S Karthikeyan (28) of Seeranaickenpalayam, and R Karthik alias Puffs Karthik (25), P Manikandan alias Auto Manikandan (30), and S Narayanamurthy (30) of Vadavalli. According to the prosecution counsel, the gang intercepted the survivor, who belongs to the SC community, and her 19-year-old male friend at a park near Seeranaickenpalayam. They were allegedly celebrating her birthday, around 8.30 pm on November 26, 2019. The gang sexually assaulted the girl, allegedly after beating up her friend, and videotaped the acts. According to the police, the girl went to the boy's house after the incident and returned home the next day. She complained to the All-Women (AWPS-West) police station, where a case was registered under various sections, including the provisions of the Pocso Act for sexual assault, the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, along with IPC Sections 147, 365, 506 (i), 323, 366 (A), and 341. The seven accused were arrested and charged in the case. The trial was held at the special court, and on Friday, the court pronounced the judgment after finding the accused guilty. The court ordered the prime suspects, Manikandan, Karthik alias Puffs Karthik, and Manikandan alias Auto Manikandan, to undergo life imprisonment until death and imposed fines of Rs 62,000, Rs 71,000, and Rs 58,000 respectively. The remaining four were sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs 51,000 each. The court ordered the state government to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the survivor. Tension gripped the court premises after the family members of the accused argued with the police that they were wrongly framed in the case.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Man gets 20-yr RI for raping 6-year-old girl
1 2 Cuttack: A special Pocso court in Cuttack on Thursday sentenced a 23-year-old man to rigorous imprisonment for 20 years for raping a 6-year-old girl last year. "No lenience can be shown to the convict, who has committed the offence under Pocso Act when the same is proved by adequate evidence," presiding Judge Himansu Sekhar Singh observed while pronouncing the sentence. The judge also imposed fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict while recommending the district legal services authority to provide a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the survivor, considering her age at the time of the crime. "The copy of the judgment be forwarded to the secretary, DLSA, Cuttack for information and necessary action," the judge ordered. According to the trial court order, the incident was reported in a police station by the father of the survivor on Nov 20, 2024. He alleged that on the previous day, the accused, a tractor driver, had raped his daughter after giving her chocolate when he and his wife were away working at a nearby brick kiln. The trial court ruled the "prosecution is found to have established beyond reasonable doubt" that the girl was less than 12 years at the time of occurrence of the crime and charged him under sections 63 and 65(2) of BNS and under sections of Pocso Act. "Nothing could be brought out from the material witnesses to support the defence claim of false implication. The decision relied on by the defence counsel is found to be not helpful in the present facts and circumstances of the case," the court observed. Special public prosecutor Biswajit Ray led the prosecution, while advocate S R Mallick represented the convict.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
‘Highly improbable', HC junks Pocso case against pastor
Kochi: High court has acquitted a 33-year-old pastor from Pathanamthitta in a Pocso case, setting aside the trial court's order that had sentenced him to double life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 2 lakh. According to the prosecution, the pastor allegedly subjected a 10-year-old neighbouring girl to aggravated penetrative sexual assault on Oct 18, 2014, and over the preceding year while residing with his family in a rented house in Idukki. The victim stated that when she visited the pastor's home to play with his child, he took her to his bedroom and sexually assaulted her. She later reported the incident to a junior public health nurse at her school, leading to the registration of the crime and his subsequent arrest. The trial court convicted him, imposing double life imprisonment and a fine, which prompted him to move HC. The pastor chose to argue his own case despite HC cautioning him about the seriousness and legal complexities involved. In his defence, the pastor claimed he was falsely implicated due to prior animosity, alleging that the victim had stolen Rs 100 from his purse to buy ice cream. He further contended that the medical report did not indicate any signs of penetrative sexual assault. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Mis-sold PCP? Claim It Back. My Car Loan Claims Learn More Undo Additionally, he argued that the victim had been coached on how to present evidence in court. Upon reviewing the records, HC found inconsistencies between the victim's testimony and the medical evidence, ruling that her account could not serve as a valid basis for conviction. The court also deemed her version 'highly improbable and unbelievable'. Consequently, the pastor was acquitted.
